USE OF PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS FOR PROVISION OF HEALTH CARE SERVICES AND LEGAL PROTECTION FOR PROVIDERS.

SEC. 736. USE OF PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS FOR PROVISION OF HEALTH CARE SERVICES AND LEGAL PROTECTION FOR PROVIDERS. (a) Use of Contracts Outside Medical Treatment Facilities.—Section 1091(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended— (1) by inserting “(1)” before “The Secretary of Defense”; and (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(2) The Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Transportation with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, may also enter into personal services contracts to carry out other health care responsibilities of the Secretary (such as the provision of medical screening examinations at Military Entrance Processing Stations) at locations outside medical treatment facilities, as determined necessary pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary. The Secretary may not enter into a contract under this paragraph after the end of the one-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this paragraph.”. (b) Defense of Suits.—Section 1089 of such title is amended— (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following new sentence: “This subsection shall also apply if the physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, or paramedical or other supporting personnel (or the estate of such person) involved is serving under a personal services contract entered into under section 1091 of this title.”; and (2) in subsection (f)— (A) by inserting “(1)” after “(f)”; and (B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(2) With respect to the Secretary of Defense and the Armed Forces Retirement Home Board, the authority provided by paragraph (1) also includes the authority to provide for reasonable attorney’s fees for persons described in subsection (a), as determined necessary pursuant to regulations prescribed by the head of the agency concerned.”. (c) Report.—Not later than March 31, 1998, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on the feasible alternative means for performing the medical screening examinations that are routinely performed at Military Entrance Processing Stations. The report shall contain a discussion of the feasibility and cost of the use of— (1) the TRICARE system for the performance of the examinations; and (2) each other alternative identified in the report.